LH in polycystic ovary syndrome: Reproducibility and pulsatile secretion

Serum concentrations of LH are increased in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We have investigated two aspects of LH secretion which have not previously been reported: its reproducibility within individuals and the pattern of superimposed pulses of LH secretion. In nine patients with PCOS the mean concentration of LH was calculated from 24 blood samples taken at 15-min intervals for 6 h on two or three occasions over 1 year. Results showed differences in mean LH between subjects but reproducible concentrations within subjects over that period. It has been shown that LH is secreted in a complicated pattern of superimposed pulses which can be characterized by using the statistical methods of time-series analysis. To evaluate these pulse patterns of LH we studied nine patients with PCOS and compared the results with those of 12 normal women in the early follicular phase of the ovarian cycle. Blood samples were taken at either 5-min intervals for 6 h or 1-min intervals for 1 h. Pulses were detected in both groups at frequencies of about 1 h and 2 to 3 min. There was no significant difference in the pulse frequencies between the patients and controls but the amplitude of both groups of pulses was increased in the PCOS patients.